Cheaper Than A Mower: Trim Grass By Hand With An Easy-To-Use Lowe's Find

Robotic mowers, smart mowers with apps, automated weeders — in a time when lawn care is going high-tech, it's a little rebellious to go back to the basics with hand-powered weeding and mowing tools. And it's a lot cheaper, too. Take the Walensee Steel Grass Whip, for example. It's under $40 at Lowe's and operates on the simple premise of swinging a sharp steel blade back and forth to chop down tall weeds and grass. Now, you won't want to tackle all of your mowing with this tool, but it comes in handy in specific situations, like clearing overgrown weeds, where buying a specialty mower would be expensive.

But first, let's take a closer look at the Walensee. It has an 8 ⅖-inch double-sided blade, which allows you to cut through tall, thick growth in either direction as you swing. That can make the process a little faster than using a single-sided blade. It's also 39 inches long overall and has an 80-inch cutting range. 

Turning to the reviews, this grass whip has a 4.3 rating, but it only has nine ratings so far. Of those people, only three left comments in the reviews. The positives noted that it's lightweight, well-made, and suitable for small jobs. Meanwhile, one reviewer said it just bent the weeds. It's important to be realistic about how the tool works. It requires you to swing the blade manually, which can become quite a physical job if you're covering a lot of ground. So while it's an inexpensive tool, it creates more work when you're using it, especially if you don't keep the blade sharp.

If you're looking for a lawn mower alternative for your entire lawn, especially if it's large, the Walensee grass whip likely won't be the best option. Whips and scythes aren't easy to use on short grass, and cutting an entire lawn like this will take more time and energy than using a traditional mower. It may also be difficult to cut grass to a consistent height when you're doing it manually with a swinging blade.

On the other hand, one of the downsides of riding lawn mowers is that they don't handle tall grass, ditches, slopes, or areas close to fences well. The Walensee could be useful in those situations, especially for small areas with taller grass or weeds. And since it's a manually operated tool, you eliminate the costs of gas, oil, electricity for charging batteries, replacement parts, maintenance, and repairs. Plus, you save time by not having to refill the gas tank or prepare the machine for mowing.

This tool could also be useful in remote areas of your yard or property, like a field on an acreage. You can haul the lightweight grass whip easily without loading, unloading, and towing a mower to those far corners. Even if your property is smaller, the non-motorized operation lets you trim weeds and grass quietly, which keeps your neighbors happy.